Jack (1996)

Because of an unusual aging disorder that has aged him four times faster than a normal human being, a boy enters the fifth grade for the first time with the appearance of a 40 year old man.

Director:

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers:

James DeMonaco, Gary Nadeau

Stars:

Robin Williams, Diane Lane, Brian Kerwin

5 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Robin Williams	...	Jack Powell
Diane Lane	...	Karen Powell
Brian Kerwin	...	Brian Powell
Jennifer Lopez	...	Miss Marquez
Bill Cosby	...	Lawrence Woodruff
Fran Drescher	...	Dolores 'D.D.' Durante
Adam Zolotin	...	Louis 'Louie' Durante
Todd Bosley	...	Eddie
Seth Smith	...	John-John
Mario Yedidia	...	George
Jeremy Lelliott	...	Johnny Duffer
Jurnee Smollett-Bell	...	Phoebe (as Jurnee Smollett)
Dani Faith	...	Jane
Hugo Hernandez	...	Victor
Rickey D'Shon Collins	...	Eric

Storyline

The movie is about a boy with a unique aging disorder: one that makes him age 4 times faster than normal. It picks up when Jack (Robin Williams) is 10 years old, but looks 40. He tries to go to public school for the first time, and to become friends with kids his own age. His physical appearance causes him lots of problems, however.

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Plot Keywords:

aging disorder | boy | 10 year old | school | essay | 

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Taglines:

Jack Powell is about to tackle his biggest adventure ever...fifth grade!

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual references

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

9 August 1996 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Mare Island, Vallejo, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$11,191,496 (USA) (9 August 1996)

Gross:

$58,586,889 (USA) (10 January 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American Zoetrope, Great Oaks, Hollywood Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

113 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the last scene, after the graduation, there is a red sign in the background as Jack leaves in the car with his friends. The sign says "Seven Years Later", the same as the text when the movie jumps to the graduation.

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Goofs

When Jack is talking with Dolores, he puts his hands up his shirt and you can see the wire for the Lavalier microphone.

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Quotes

Brian: You know I was just thinking about the first time you ever rode a bike. Remember that?
Jack: Oh yeah.
Brian: You were so determined to ride. You kept wiping out and nearly took out a couple of the neighbors. It took a couple days until you finally got it, and look at you now! I mean, you're riding like a pro!

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the music, Jack's classmates can be heard calling for him to come out and play.

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Connections

Features The Gold Rush (1925)

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Soundtracks

"American Muscle"
By Geoff Ellswoth
Performed by Blue Girl

User Reviews

Interesting Coppola movie

"Jack" is a silly, genial and charming story about a "little" boy who ages four times faster than he should. It's a tragedy disguised as comedy. It has some comic elements but who couldn't admit the basic idea is rather sad. "Jack" is the kind of a film you least expect from the man who directed violent crime, war and horror masterpieces "The Godfather" -trilogy, "Apocalypse Now" and "Dracula". Nevertheless it's one of the most personal projects of Francis Ford Coppola since his own son died at an early age. Even though this is not a classic Coppola movie it's definitely classic role from Robin Williams.

It's hard to think of another actor to play the part of a ten year old boy who looks like a man of middle age. Williams really relieved the child inside of him. Bill Cosby is also splendid as Jack's sympathetic teacher Woodruff. For the sake of comparison I might mention that Penny Marshall's "Big" starring Tom Hanks is an outstanding, heart-warming classic and I've seen it many, many, many times but it's hard to get tired of a movie that's simply so enjoyable and entertaining. "Jack" is watchable once or probably even twice but unfortunately it doesn't come even close to "Big's" glamour. "Jack" has a good idea and yet another excellent performance from Williams but it's a movie that just might have been even better.